When Louisiana was
admitted to the Union
as the eighteenth state in 1812, W.C.C. Claiborne was elected as the state's first governor and Nicholas
Girod was elected the fifth mayor of New Orleans (and its first elected, rather than appointed mayor).
Shown here is Girod's oath of office, signed on October 6, 1812, along with the Oath of the Recorder. On
the second page are the oaths of the newly elected Aldermen, many of whom continued their terms from
previous administrations.[Conseil de Ville. Letters, Petitions and Reports, #589]